Dawn of the Space Age:

The quest to explore outer space was a much-cherished dream of mankind. The idea emerged from fiction into reality on October 4, 1957, when the erstwhile Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first-ever artificial satellite of the Earth. Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The first spacewalk by Alexey Leonov was another major achievement. The success of the Soviet Union's launch into space triggered the United States to initiate its space programmes. The race between the two nations led to the Apollo and Luna missions. The programme "Dawn of the Space Age" narrates the passion, enthusiasm, and perseverance of the pioneers with the scientific details of the challenges they had to face. Ups and downs in the space programmes were inevitable in the totally new environment and unforeseen challenges. The safe return of Yuri Gagarin to Earth and the reentry of Alexey Leonov into the module after the spacewalk are some examples. Docking, which is very commonly used today, was first attempted by Neil Armstrong, only to be abandoned. The historical step of Neil Armstrong and the subsequent trips to the moon provided opportunities to carry out scientific experiments like running a vehicle on the moon and the famous "feather and hammer" demonstration to verify Galileo's principle of equivalence. It boosted the confidence of the two nations, which ventured into unmanned space trips to Mars and Venus later. What began as a rivalry between superpowers resulted in mutual appreciation and, finally, cooperation. The initial efforts and experience of the Soviets on the Mir Space Station gave valuable input to the International Space Station, which is serving mankind with its special laboratory facilities.